Bracket-arm apparatus



May 31, 1950 1.. L. CIAMPA 2,938,695

BRACKET-ARM APPARATUS Filed Feb. 25, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 i' mm INVENTOR. (Ir/e04 L CIA/7P4 Arm/revs May 31, 1960 L. L. CIAMPA BRACKET-ARM APPARATUS Filed Feb. 25, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I I I I I v INVENTOR. lllvcouv L. CI/IMPA I BY ,4 rropveys United States Patent BRACKET-ARM APPARATUS Lincoln L. Ciampa, 302 w. 12th St., New York 14, NY.

Filed Feb. 25, 1958, Ser. No. 711,514

7 Claims. (31. 248-214) This invention relates to physical therapy apparatus and more particularly to bracket-arm apparatus for assisting in developing muscular or skeletal tension in the human body.

When certain injuries to the human body are incurred which cause maladjustment in skeletal portions in the thoracic, cervical or spinal regions and also muscular distortions in those regions and in the arm, underarm and shoulder regions, a recognized form of treatment is the development of traction or body tension by therapeutic means. Such therapeutic means may include the use of a body traction device which is fitted to some portion of the body to exert an upward pull thereon. It may also include the direct application of tension to the arms, shoulders and other body portions by means which permit application of all or part of the weight of the body, such as by grasping an overhead bar or the like and allowing the body weight to be supported by the arms.

Many types of body traction devices for applying body tension have been developed for use in connection with overhead tension means. An extremely successful form of such body traction device, for example, is the spinal traction device disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial Number 684,898, filed September 19, 1957, now Patent No. 2,851,031. Other body traction devices include the ordinary skull harness which is fitted to the head to exert an upward pull on the skull. However, complete success of such devices has not been in the past fully realized because of many disadvantages and shortcomings in the overhead tension means which must be used in conjunction therewith.

The skull harness or spinal traction device has been developed in contemplation of home application by the patient of therapeutic treatment for his skeletal and other maladjustments. This is for the reason that such treatments are usually required to be administered or conducted over long periods of time, such as during the course of weeks and months by the application of traction one or more times a day for short intervals of time. It is preferable that the patient need not interrupt his work or other daily duties to attend to treatments at clinics or other such ofiices for therapeutic treatment.

The overhead tension means heretofore used in conjunction with a spinal traction device or the like have been in the nature of eye-bolts aifixed to the ceiling of a room, overhead pulleys, overhead bars and other such means to which the skull harness or spinal traction device may be attached, or through which may be passed a rope attached to the harness by which the required amount of traction may be manually developed and applied. The difficulties of these means include their permanency of attachment to the ceiling or other overhead member, the

lack of portabflity of the means, the difficulty of install-- ing the fixed overhead device, the resulting damage to the ceiling or overhead member which must be repairedwhen treatment is discontinued, and the necessity for the patient to obtain the assistance of another when attempt 2,938,698 Patented May 31, 1960 ice ing to connect the rope, skull harness or spinal traction device to the overhead tension means.

Another form of overhead tension means which has been used is the bracket-arm type which may be bracketed atop a door and which extends outwardly therefrom, as would an arm, and to which the skull harness "or spinal traction device is connected. However, the

use of such bracket-arm apparatus has been limited by the many disadvantages found in the devices heretofore developed. Such disadvantages include unavailability of adjustment of the devices to fit over doors of varying thicknesses or unwieldy arrangements therefor, the complexities of assembly of the apparatus itself and the complexities of the connecting means between the apparatus and the spinal traction device which the partially disabled patient cannot be expected to overcome, the lack of adaptability for use in conjunction with more than one type of traction device, the limited amount of weight which the apparatus is capable of supporting, and the relatively great number of parts thereof which increase the opportunities for mechanical failure in the apparatus. Further disadvantages are'that the use of such apparatus may scratch or mar the door on which it is used, and that the apparatus is not collapsible, nor lightweight, nor compact enough for convenient packing when traveling.

Where treatment is prescribed involving both suspension by the arms and the use of, for example, the skull harness, the patient is usually required to have available more than one type of bracket-arm apparatus. Manufacturing standardization therefore becomes difiicult to achieve where the weights to be supported by each of the several apparatuses vary from a few pounds to support of the entire body weight, and where the body tension supporting means attached to each of the apparatuses is required to be of a different type.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide bracket-arm apparatus for use in conjunction with a door, the apparatus being self-adjustable to doors of varying thicknesses without the use of auxiliary adjustment parts such as screws, sized-inserts, or the like.

It is a further object of the present invention to prm vide a simple economical arrangement, including a body traction device and bracket-arm apparatus, for use on the top portion of a door for self-application by the patient of physical therapy involving body tension or traction.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide bracket-arm apparatus which is extremely simple in construction to facilitate assembly thereof, to facilitate placement on a top portion of a door, and to reduce to a minimum the opportunities for mechanical failure therein.

It is another object of this invention to provide bracketarm apparatus for convenient and simple connection of the same with a spinal traction device or the like by a partially disabled person.

It is a further object of this invention to provide bracket-arm apparatus suitable for use in connection with more than one prescribed type of therapeutic treatment.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide bracket-arm apparatus which is adaptable to manufacturing standardization when manufacturing more than one type of such apparatus.

It is still another object of this invention to provide bracket-arm apparatus which is extremely strong and durable, yet collapsible, light in weight and compact to facilitate packing of the apparatus for travel.

It is still another object of this invention to provide bracket-arm apparatus which will not scratch nor mar the door on which it is used.

Briefly, the apparatus which has been invented includes horizontally outward'from, and at the top of, an ordinary door to a room in the home or ofiice. The end of the arm nearest the door is hingedly connected at the top thereof to a door plate, and hingedly connected at the bottom thereof to a pressure plate. The door plate is L-shaped and is suitable for placement on the top portion or edge of the door with a depending portion disposed on the rear face of the top portion of the door. The door plate is of convenient length in the direction paralleling the door, and has width greater than the thickness of the average to large size door so that, when positioned on the door, a portion of the door plate extends outward beyond the plane of the front face of the. door in the direction of the arm. The door plate is of thin section to permit its interposition between the door and its door frame when the door is closed. The pressure plate contacts the front'face of the door when the apparatus is in use. At the opposite, or outward end of the arm there is. attached means for supporting the body tension to be developed. Such means may be any ordinary rope pulley arrangement, or. a bar from which body weight may be hung or through which force may be applied.

The several elements of the apparatus which include the door plate, the pressure plate and the hinge connections thereto cause the apparatus to be self-adjusting in engagement with doors of varying thicknesses, and with doors having door frames of peculiar lintel portion configuration.v The self-adjustability of the apparatus is improved by angulating the end of the arm between the two hinge connections in a direction downwardly toward the door, as will be explained.

' The arm is more easily made having an inverted "U- shaped cross-section, and when taking this form, the arm may therefore be described as having a top plate portion and two depending side plate portions. The U- shape imparts the requisite strength characteristics of the arm while holding the weight of the apparatus to a minimum.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description thereof when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a preferred embdoiment of the bracket-arm apparatus involving pulley means for connection with a body traction device;

1 Figure 2 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the bracket-arm apparatus involving hang-bar means for developing. body tension;

Figure 3 is a side elevation illustrating how the bracketarm apparatus in combination with a spinal traction device may be used to manually apply body tension for therapeutic treatment by the patient himself; and

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the second embodiment of the bracket-arm apparatus to show how such may be used to develop body tension and further to show the adjustability of both embodiments of the invention to doors of varying thicknesses. I

Referring to the drawings in which like parts are identically numbered in the figures thereof, the numeral represents the bracket-arm apparatus, generally. Bracket-arm apparatus 19 is generally comprised of door plate 11 which is connected to arm 18 by means of rotatable connection 14, pressure plate 36 which is connested to arm 13 by rotatable connection 38, and body tension supporting means 29.

Door plate 11 is made of strong, flat, sheet material, such as metal, of relatively thin section so as to be capable of interposition between a door and its frame when the door is closed. When in use, door plate 11 will be placed atop a door 1 on a top portion 2 thereof, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Door plate 11 is generally L-shaped, being comprised of, fiat leg portion 12 and average to large-size door 1. Flat leg portion 12 extends beyond, or outwardly of, the plane of a front face portion 4 of door 1. Depending leg portion 13 is disposed against rear face portion 3 of door 1 when bracket-arm apparatus 10 is in position for use. Depending leg portion 13 is preferably a downwardly bent portion of door plate 11, as shown, or it may be attached to fiat leg portion 12 in right-angular relationship thereto by other methods,

such as welding and the like. 'Since it is contemplated that the door 1 willbe in closed position relative to its door frame 5 when the bracket-arm apparatus is in use, depending leg portion 13 should also be of thin section for interposition between rear-face portion 3 of door 1 and the ordinary door stop 6 on door frame 5.

Rotatable connection 14 is disposed between door plate 11 and arm 18. It is a simple hinge connection comprised of tubes 15 attached along the outward extending edge of flat leg portion 12, tubes 16 attached along the upper portion of the end of arm 18 nearest the door, and hinge rod 17 passed through tubes 15 and 16. Tubes 15 may be formed integrally with door plate 11, as by rolling appropriate edge portions thereof as shown in Figure l,

a or may be a part of a separate hinge piece 43 which is be a ball and socket joint, or other means.

attached by rivets 42, or similar means to flat leg portion 12 as shown in Figure 2. Tubes 16 may be formed integrally with arm 18, as by rolling appropriate edge portions thereof as shown in Figure 1, or may be a part of a separate hinge piece 41 which is attached by rivets 4.2, or similar means, to arm :18 as shown in Figure 2. It is to be understood, however, that other type hinge means may be used to connectdoor plate 11 and arm 18.

Arm 18 is generally U-shaped in cross-section and is comprised of top plate portion 19 and side plate portions 21. Arm 18 is made of light, strong, sheet material, such as aluminum or steel, and may be made either by bending a single sheet of such material to shape, as shown in the figures of my drawings, or by other means. Side plate portions 21 depend vertically from either side of top plate portion 19, and are angulated with respect to the longitudinal plane axis of arm 18, in the manner shown, to impart a generally wedge-shaped appearance in plan view to arm 18. This configuration assists obtaining the preferred strength and rigidity characteristics of the bracketarm apparatus.

Attached by means of rotatable connection 38 to arm 18, at lower end portions 47 of side plate portions 21, is a pressure plate 36 for pressure contact with front face portion 4 of door 1 when the bracket-arm apparatus is in use. Pressure plate 36 has padding material 39, such as felt or rubber, attached thereto by glue or other means, to prevent scratching or marring of door 1 when the bracket-arm apparatus is in use. Rotatable connection 38 maybe a simple hinge connection, as shown, or may The hinge type connection may be made as shown by providing pressure plate 36 with flanges 37 formed integrally there with, as by stamping and bending outwardly portions of the surface thereof, for engagement with side plate portions 21, and providing a rod (not numbered) to be passed through suitable openings in the flanges 37 and in each of the lower end portions :47 of side plate portions 21. The rod may be peened at the ends thereof to hold the connection, or a long bolt may be used with a nut in usual manner in place of the peened rod, to provide for easy disassembly of pressure plate 36 from arm 18.

Side plate portions 21 of arm 18 are preferably cut in angulated fashion along thelower edges 48 thereof, conforming generally to a diagram of stress conditions under load when the bracket-arm apparatus is in use, to conserve materials.

The ends 49 of side plate portions 21 are angulated downwardly toward'the door 1 with respect to the plane of top plate portion 19 for several reasons. Angulated shape of the arm at its end nearest the door permits pressure plate 36 to rotate beyond the vertical position mes es in a clockwise direction in the drawings, thereby permitting engagement of the apparatus with a door having a top portion of peculiar configuration, such as a paneltype door. a door mounted in a door frame having a lintel 7 which extends considerably outward beyond the plane of the front face of the door by permitting flat leg portion 12 to be made wider to clear such a lintel while retaining the effective height of the arm 18 and consequently of the body tension supporting means 29 by not causing the position of arm 18 to be below the horizontal when the apparatus is in use. Thus, the angulated end of arm 18 cooperates with other features of the invention to provide self-adjustability of engagement of the apparatus with doors having different door frame styling, different door styling, and having varying thicknesses, such as shown by T1 and T2.

At the other end of arm 18, opposite angulated ends 49, is attached the body tension supporting means, which means, generally, is indicated by numeral 29. Body tension supporting means is the means to which a body traction device may be attached, or by which the body weight may be supported to apply and develop body tension. It will be of any type suitable for the purpose, two examples of which are shown in Fignlres l and 2.

The pulley type body tension supporting means shown in Figures 1 and 3 is particularly designed for interconnection and use with the spinal traction device 46, which is the subject of my co-pending application Serial Number 684,898, filed September 19, 1957, now Patent No. 2,851,031. However, other types of body traction devices might be used in conjunction with this form of the invention. The embodiment comprises a fixed doublepulley 24 attached to the end of arm 18, and a moveable pulley 27 in pulley engagement with fixed double-pulley 24 by means of rope 35. Single or multiple pulleys might be substituted for either, and the rope 35 might be connected at an end portion thereof to either the fixed pulley block or to the moveable pulley block in any of common pulley arrangements to obtain the same result.

Fixed double-pulley 24 is comprised of outer cheeks 50 attached to arm 18 (and preferably formed integrally with depending side plate portions 21 thereof), inner check 26 supported and positioned by spreader rods 22, and two fixed pulley wheels 25 supported by fixed doublepulley shaft 23. Moveable pulley 27 is comprised of cheeks 28, preferably formed integrally as shown, spreader rod 33 (which also is the means of attachment of hook 34, the hook being the connection means for interconnection of a body traction device), pulley wheel 31 and moveable pulley shaft 32. Rope 35 is knotted at an end portion thereof for connection to moveable pulley 27 by locating the knot within the pulley block and passing the rope 35 through rope aperture 30. Pulley engagement is made by passing the rope over one of the fixed pulleys 25, thence under the moveable pulley 31, and thence over the other fixed pulley 25. The other end of rope 35 remains free for manual application of body traction by the patient. Thus, when the apparatus is operably associated with a body traction device, body tension is developed in response to manual adjustment of the pulley means.

The hang-bar type body tension supporting means shown in Figure 2 may be used for direct application of body tension as shown in Figure 4, or for application of tension by means of a traction device which may be engaged therewith by rope or other means. Hang-bar 43 is attached to the end of arm 18 in right angular relationship therewith substantially in the plane of top plate portion 19, by front rolled portion 20 of top plate portion 19, and pin 44. Front rolled portion 20 is attached, as by welding, to side plate portions 21 of arm 18 as indicated in Figure 4. Pin 44 also serves to prevent annular rotation in use of hang-bar 43, and gripping material 45, such as rubber or cork or other such material, is glued It also facilitates use of the apparatus with v V G or otherwise disposed around hang-bar 43 to further assist the gripping of the bar by the patient.

When it is desired to apply body tension for treating body maladjustment in the cervical region, i.e. the neck, the thoracic region, i.e. between the neck and the abdomen, and in other regions of the body, the invention is disposed, or placed, upon the top edge of the door by the patient. The cooperation of the elements of the invention which engage the door cause the apparatus to adjust itself to the configurations and size of the particular door and door frame in conjunction with which it is used. Thus, the apparatus has self-adjustability of engagemeut without requiring the placing of sized inserts, or the turning of adjustment screws by the patient, or any other means. The patient then closes the door so that the bracket-arm apparatus is interposed between the door and its frame whereby it is held in place. The patient will then operably associate, or connect his skull harness or other spinal traction device thereto, or otherwise proceed to apply body tension to himself for therapeutic treatment. Connection of the skull harness or other spinal traction device to the pulley type body tension supporting means may be made as aforesaid, or connection to the hang-bar type body tension supporting means may be made simply by passing a rope attached to the skull harness over the hang-bar. The patient, of course, manually pulls the free end of the rope to apply traction, thus developing body tension. 1 Thus a novel bracket-arm apparatus has been described which will achieve all of the aforesaid objects. The several elements thereof cooperate to provide self-adjustability of engagement to doors in the home or ofiice which may be of different thicknesses and which have door frames of varied style. The first rotatable means connecting the arm and the door plate and the second rotatable means connecting the arm and the pressure plate both cooperate with the pressure plate and the door plate to provide the said self-adjustability of engagement. In all of the figures of the drawings the end of the arm which is nearest the door is shown to be angulated downwardly toward the door between the two rotatable connections, which feature provides additional advantages. The angulated end together with the two rotatable connections permits the extending portion of the door plate to be made wider to clear perhaps an unusually formed lintel of a door frame, yet permits the bracket-arm to be sub-- stantially horizontal when in use, thereby retaining the effective height of the apparatus. Thus, the angulated shape of the end of the arm, taken together with the mul tiple hinge arrangement, further cooperates with both the extending portion of the door plate and the pressure plate to provide improved adjustability of engagement of the apparatus with a door and its door frame. In the drawings the said angulation of the arm is achieved by angulating the ends 49 of the depending side plate portions 21 of the arm. Other arrangements are possible which achieve the same result, such as having the end of the arm vertical with relation to the top plate, but including an extension toward the door at the lower portions of the side plates of the arm to locate the second, or lower, hinge in substantially the same orientation with respect to the first, or upper hinge.

It is readily apparent from the above description that standardization in manufacture of bracket-arm apparatus may be achieved, because the arm and the portions of the apparatus which engage the door are the same in the several types of apparatus and only the type of body tension supporting means at the end of the arm will be required to be varied. An extremely strong apparatus has been invented for general use in physical therapy, the efficiency of which is not diminished by varying the body tensionsupporting means thereon according to the treatment prescribed.

While only two embodiments of this invention have been shown and described, it is obvious that certain 'stead of the specific means disclosed above.

changes and additions can be made by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For example, other types of pulley arrangem'ents and'hang-bar attachments might be used in;

Suc

changes as well as others, are contemplated as being within the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

l. Bracket-arm apparatus disposable upon a top portion of a door for developing body tension comprising an L-shaped door plate suitable for interposition between said door and its door frame, the door' plate having a fiat leg portion adapted to extend outwardly beyond a front face portion of said door; an arm; a first hinge means connecting said arm at an upper portion of an end thereof to said'door plate at the said extending fiat leg portion thereof; a pressure plate adapted for pressure contact with a front face portion of said door; a second hinge means connecting said pressure plate to said arm at a lower portion ofsaid end thereof, both the said hinge means cooperating with the said pressure plate and the said extending flat leg portion of the door plate to provide self-adjustability of engagement of the said bracket-arm apparatus with said door; and a'hang-bar attached to the opposite end of said arm.

ZJBracket-arm apparatus disposable upon a top portion of a door for'developing body tension comprising an L shaped door plate suitable for interposition between said door and its door frame, the door plate having a fiat legportion adapted to extend outwardly beyond a front face portion of said door; an arm having an end apparatus with said door; and a hang-bar attached to the opposite end of said arm.

3. Bracket-arm apparatus disposable upon -a top portion of a door for developing body tension comprising an L-shaped door plate suitablev for interposition between said door and its door frame, the door plate having a depending vertical leg portion disposable against a rear face portion of said door and a flat leg portion of width greater than the thickness of said door to extend outwardly beyond a front face portion of the door; an arm U-shaped in cross-section having a top plate portion and two depending side plate portions, one end of said arm having the side plate portions angulated downwardly toward said door; a first hinge means connecting said arm at said end thereof at said top plate portion to said door plate at the said extending fiat leg portion thereof; a pressure plate for pressure contact with a front face portion of said door, said pressure plate having padding material disposed thereon for interposition between the pressure plate and said door; a second hinge means connecting said pressure plate to said end of said arm at a lower portion of each of said depending side plate portions thereof, the said end of said arm and both the said hinge means cooperating with the said pressure plate and the said .door plate to provide self-adjustability of engageplane of said top plate portion thereof.

5 ment of the said bracket-arm apparatus with said door; and a hang-bar attachedto the opposite end of said arm in right-angular relationship thereto substantially in the 4. Bracket-arm apparatus for seating engagement with the top edgeof a door for use in connection withapparatus for developing body tension comprising an L-shaped door plate, said L-shape being at the rear edge of said door plate, an outwardly extending arm rotatably attached at one end thereof to said door plate at its front edge, a pressure plate rotatably attached to said'arm at said end thereof at a location thereon below that of attachment between said arm and said door plate, whereby said bracket-arm apparatus is self-adjustable of engagement with said door, and means at the outer end of said arm for interconnection with body tension supporting means.

5. Bracket-arm apparatus for seating engagement with the top edge of a door for use in connection with apparatus for developing body tension comprising an L-shaped door plate, said L-shape being at the rear'edge ofsaid door plate, an outwardly extending arm rotatably attached at one end thereof to said door plate at its front edge, said arm having inverted U-shape in cross section throughout substantially the length thereof, a pressure plate rotatably attached to said arm at said end thereof at a location thereon below that of attachment between said arm and said door plate, whereby said bracket-arm apparatus is self-adjustable of engagement with said door, and means at the outer end of said arm for interconnection with body tension supporting means.

6. Bracket-arm apparatus for seating engagement with the top edge of a door for use in connection with apparatus for developingbody tension comprising an L-shaped door plate, said L-shape being at the rear edge of said door plate, an outwardly extending arm rotatably attached at an upper portion of one end thereof to said door plate at its front edge, said end of said arm shaped to angulate downwardly and in the direction of said door plate, a pressure plate rotatably attached to said arm at a lower portion of said end thereof, whereby said bracketarm apparatus is self-adjustable of engagement with said door, and means at the outer end of said arm for interconnection with body tension supporting means.

7. Bracket-arm apparatus for seating engagement with the top edge of a door for use in connection with apparatus for developing body tension comprising an L-shaped door plate, said L-shape being at the rear edge of said door plate, an outwardly extending arm rotatably attached at one end thereof to said door plate at its front edge, a pressure plate rotatably attached to said arm at said end thereof at a location thereon below that of attachment between said arm and said door plate, whereby said bracket-arm apparatus is self-adjustable of engagement with said door, and means at the outer end of said arm for interconnection with body tension supporting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Dec. 6, 1899 

